This page shows textual changes in the document between the two versions indicated in the dates above. Textual matter removed in the later version is indicated with red strikethrough and textual matter added in the later version is indicated with blue.
This report is one of a series of reports on legislative process and research; it is intended to serve as a finding aid to sources of information, such as documents, news articles, analysis, contacts, and services, used inintended to serve as a finding aid for congressional documents, executive branch documents and information, news articles, policy analysis, contacts, and training, for use in policy and legislative research. It does not define or describe the purpose of various government documents; that information can be found in companion CRS Report R41865, Legislative History Research: A Guide to Resources for Congressional Staff and CRS Report RL33895, Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Resources for Congressional Staff. This report is not intended to be a definitive list of all resources, but rather a guide to pertinent subscriptions available in the House and Senate in addition to select resources freely available to the public. This report is intended for use by congressional staff andfor use by Members and congressional office staff will be updated annuallyas needed.
During the legislative process, many documents are prepared by Congress and its committees. Governmental and non-governmentalnongovernmental entities track and record congressional activities, and many more entities chronicle and analyze the development of public policy. The wide availability of such information can be overwhelmingdaunting to those involved in policy and legislative research. The purpose of this report is to assist Members and congressional staff in identifying and accessing key resources used during legislative researchsuch research.
The resources' titles and access information are presented in eight tables. The tables provide information on how to find congressional documents (Table 1); information on tracking legislative activity (Table 2); executive branch documents and information (Table 3); information about legislative support agencies (Table 4); congressional news sources (Table 5); policy and scholarly research sources (Table 6 and Table 7); and research-related training and services for congressional staff (Table 8).
This report does not define or describe the purpose of the various information resources and documents; that information can be found in companion CRS Report R41865, Legislative History ResearchRL33895, Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Resources for Congressional Staff and CRS Report RL33895, Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Resources for Congressional Staff.
This report is not a comprehensive catalog of resources for conducting policy and legislative research; instead, it provides a selection of widely used electronic resources. Some of the resources mentioned are only availableavailable only with a paid subscription, whereas others are free:; this availability is noted in the report along with the access points for Members and congressional staffcongressional staff. Print resources for time periods not covered by the resources listed in the tables may be available from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the Law Library of Congress, or the House and Senate Libraries. The inclusion of resources in this report does not imply endorsement by the Congressional Research Service (CRS)CRS of the content or the products listed. In addition, CRS does not acquire or manage congressional offices' access to subscription resources.
CRS is available for consultation on policy and legislative research or to perform legislativesuch research upon request. CRS can also advise Members and congressional staff on the use of the resources listed in this report, including advice on how to select the best resource to use, how to search for information within a resource, or how to develop the most effective research methodology. This report is one of a series of reports on legislative process and research; see Table A-2 for other reports in the series.
The resource titles and access points are presented in four tables. The tables provide information on how to find congressional and other government documents relevant to the legislative process (Table 1); information from congressional news sources and legislative support agencies (Table 2); experts and contacts from think tanks, academia, executive branch agencies, and CRS (Table 3); and research-related training and services for Members and congressional staff (Table 4).
Table 1 serves as a reference guide for locating legislative and executive branch documents using free, subscription, and restricted access resources. The first column of the table contains documents commonly used in legislative research. The second column lists where these documents can be found. The third column contains typical citations for the documents listed in the first column. The fourth column contains explanatory notes and references to other information.
Italicized entries in the second column indicate a subscription-based resource available in most House and Senate offices and also at CRS reference centers (whose locations and hours of operation are available in Table 4). Unless otherwise indicated, all other resources listed are freely available to all congressional offices.
Table A-1 provides additional information on the items contained
Congressional Documents
Table 1 serves as a reference guide for locating congressional documents using both freely available and subscription-based resources. The first column of the tables lists documents commonly used in policy and legislative research and typical citations for such documents. The second column lists resources where these documents can be accessed. The third column contains explanatory notes.
Table 2 provides information about how to access House and Senate committee schedules, floor schedules, calendars, and floor proceedings, all of which can be helpful in tracking congressional activities.
Access to subscription resources can vary among CRS, Senate, and House offices. See the notes within the tables for more information. CRS subscriptions can be accessed through the CRS La Follette Congressional Reading Room (locations and hours of operation are available in Table 8). Unless otherwise indicated, all other resources are freely available.
Table A-1 provides additional information on the resources in Table 1, including more detailed descriptions and URLs linking directly to the resources (when available).
Document |
|
|
Notes |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bills and | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bills and Resolutions 1993 to present |
CQ.com ProQuest Congressional |
H.R. 123, S.Res. 200 |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bills and Resolutions before 1993 |
Law Library of Congress (or call CRS: [phone number scrubbed]) ProQuest Congressional |
S. 236, H.Con.Res. 728 |
CRS has access to ProQuest Congressional, which offers bill and resolution text going back to 1789. Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to ProQuest Congressional may differ. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Floor Amendments |
LIS.gov or Congress.gov (1981-present) Senate Amendment Tracking System CQ.com |
S.Amdt. 15, H.Amdt. 75 |
Published in the Congressional Record. On LIS.gov, amendments can be found under "Bill Status with Amendments" or "Amendments" on the Bill Summary & Status page. On Congress.gov, amendments can be found under the "Amendments" tab or the "Actions" tab, clicking "All Actions, including Floor Amendments" on a bill page. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Laws |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Statutes (laws) |
LIS.gov or Congress.gov (1995-present) ProQuest Congressional |
P.L. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119 |
LIS.gov links to GPO FDsys and Congress.gov hosts the GPO PDF of the law. For older laws, refer to ProQuest Congressional or call CRS at [phone number scrubbed]. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Code |
42 USC 543, 35 U.S.C. §123(a) |
Resolutions
(H.R. 123, S. 345, H.Res. 678,S.J.Res. 910)
Full text available 1989-present. Bill summaries available 1973-present. CQ.com The CRS subscription to CQ.com includes bill text from 1995 to present. Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to CQ may differ. ProQuest Congressional The CRS subscription to ProQuest Congressional includes bill and resolution text for all Congresses. Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to ProQuest Congressional may differ. Draft Legislation and Amended Legislation not yet available in Congress.gov Member or committee websites Committee documents may include draft legislation to be discussed at committee meetings. CQ.com Manager's amendments and scanned markups of reported bills may be posted on "Bills to be Considered on the House Floor." See the CQ "Hot Docs" page or the "Draft Bill Text" page. Draft legislation may circulate among Members and the press prior to formal introduction. Bill text may not be available from the Government Publishing Office (GPO) and Congress.gov for several days following introduction or subsequent congressional action. Floor Amendments (S.Amdt. 15, H.Amdt. 75) Full text available 1995-present. Amendment status available 1981-present. Amendments can be found under the "Amendments" tab on a bill page, linking to full text in the Congressional Record. CQ.com The CRS subscription to CQ.com includes the full text of amendments from 2001 to present. Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to CQ may differ. CQ.com The CRS subscription to CQ.com includes access from 1983 to present. Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to CQ may differ. All roll call votes are available in the Congressional Record. To find votes on specific issues, over a time period, or other criteria, call CRS at [phone number scrubbed]. Full text available 1995-present. Full text available 1995-present. ProQuest Congressional The CRS subscription to ProQuest Congressional includes public law text for all Congresses. Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to ProQuest Congressional may differ. Full text available 1951-2011. ProQuest Congressional The CRS subscription to ProQuest Congressional includes Statutes at Large from 1955 to present. Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to ProQuest Congressional may differ. U.S. Code (42 USC 543, 35 U.S.C. §123(a)) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Floor Debate |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Congressional Record Bound |
ProQuest Congressional |
142 Cong. Rec. 15466 |
Statute Compilations (Higher Education Act, Public Health Service Act) Congressional Record Bound (142 Cong. Rec. 15466) ProQuest Congressional The CRS subscription to ProQuest Congressional includes Congressional Record Permanent Edition text going back to 1789 (the Congressional Record was preceded by the Annals of Congress, Register of Debates, and Congressional Globe). Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to ProQuest Congressional may differ. Full text available back to 1932. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Congressional Record Daily (158 Cong. Rec. H5618) |
Full text available 1995-present. See "Congressional Record" link at top of any page. CQ.com The CRS subscription to CQ.com includes full text from 1987 to present. Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to CQ may differ. ProQuest Congressional The CRS subscription to ProQuest Congressional includes full text from 1985 to present. CQ.com ProQuest Congressional |
158 Cong. Rec. H5618 |
The Congressional Record |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Floor Votes |
CQ.com LIS.gov or Congress.gov (1990-present) CQ Almanac (for votes pre-1990) |
Roll no. 30, Record Vote Number: 11 |
Votes are published in Congressional Record. On LIS.gov, votes can be found under "Major Actions" while viewing Bill Summary & Status. On Congress.gov, see the "Actions" tab under "Major Actions." To find votes on specific issues, over a time period, or other criteria, call CRS at [phone number scrubbed]. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Committee Actions |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Committee Schedules |
CQ.com |
See CQ Schedules. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Committee Hearings (official) |
Committee websites ProQuest Congressional |
S. Hrg. 106-67 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Committee Hearing Transcripts and Webcasts (unofficial) |
CQ.com Committee websites |
Consider contacting the committee staff for hearing transcripts unavailable through these sources. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Committee Reports |
LIS.gov or Congress.gov (1995-present) CQ.com ProQuest Congressional |
H.Rept. 112-14, S.Rept. 110-55 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Committee Markup |
CQ.com Committee websites |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Committee Rosters |
CQ.com Committee websites |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Committee Prints |
ProQuest Congressional |
S. Prt. 109-88 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Draft Legislation |
Committee websites CQ.com Sponsor's website |
For CQ.com, see the CQ "Hot Docs" page. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regulations |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices |
59 Federal Register 4233 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General and Permanent Rules (codified) |
15 C.F.R. 254 |
Published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Executive Branch Information |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Executive Orders |
E.O. 12893 |
Published in the Federal Register, Compilation of Presidential Documents, and title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grants |
See CRS Report RL34035, Grants Work in a Congressional Office, CRS Report RL34012, Resources for Grantseekers, and CRS Report RL32159, How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Presidential Signing Statements |
Published in the Federal Register, Compilation of Presidential Documents. See CRS Reports on Presidential Action on Legislation. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The President's Fiscal Year Budget Proposal |
See CRS Report 98-721, Introduction to the Federal Budget Process and CRS Report R43475, FY2016 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Miscellaneous Information |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appropriations Bills |
CRS Appropriations Status Table |
Available from FY1999-Present on CRS.gov. See also CRS Report R42388, The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost Estimates of Current Bills |
Published under the "Cost Estimates" section of the website. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Legislative Histories (compilations) |
ProQuest Congressional |
See CRS Report R41865, Legislative History Research: A Guide to Resources for Congressional Staff. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
State Laws and Regulations |
(H.Hrg. 105-209, S.Hrg. 106-67) Committee websites govinfo.gov See "Committee Repository" for committee documents, which may include witness bios, statements, and preliminary transcripts. ProQuest Congressional The CRS subscription to ProQuest Congressional includes records of hearings from 1824 to present. Full text of the published hearing is available when it is issued by GPO. Unofficial transcripts may be available for unpublished hearings and hearings not yet published by GPO. Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to ProQuest Congressional may differ. CQ.com The CRS subscription to CQ.com includes unofficial hearing transcripts for select hearings from the 104th Congress (1995) to present. Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to CQ may differ. Committee Reports Full text available 1995-present. On a bill page, select the "Committees" tab. Or click on the Committees links at the top of any page and see the links to House and Senate reports on the right side of the page. ProQuest Congressional The CRS subscription to ProQuest Congressional includes committee report text going back to 1789. Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to ProQuest Congressional may differ. CQ.com The CRS subscription to CQ.com includes full text from 1995 to present. Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to CQ may differ. Committee Markups and Committee Amendments CQ.com The CRS subscription to CQ.com includes committee markup coverage, including committee votes, from 2000 to present, with committee amendments from 2005 to present. Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to CQ may differ. Committee websites Materials in the "Committee Repository" may include staff memos, documents summarizing legislation or amendments, unofficial transcripts, and vote records. Note that committee reports may include information on amendments offered in committee or committee votes. Committee Prints ProQuest Congressional The CRS subscription to ProQuest Congressional includes committee prints from 1830 to present. Years of coverage in House and Senate subscriptions to ProQuest Congressional may differ. Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Note: Resources listed are available to congressional offices unless otherwise noted. Access Points Notes Committee Schedules CQ.com On the CQ homepage, navigate to the "Schedules" tab. Floor Schedules and Calendars See "Calendars and Schedules" for links to House and Senate leadership schedules outlining when the chamber will meet and legislation scheduled for consideration. See "Bills To Be Considered on the House Floor" for links to the text of legislation scheduled for consideration. See "On the Floor" for links to CRS products that focus on legislation or some of the key issues involved in legislation slated to receive floor debate during the week. Floor Proceedings See "Floor Proceedings" tab under "Legislative Activity" on the homepage. See "Floor Proceedings" section on the homepage. Source: Compiled by CRS. Note: Resources listed are available to congressional offices. Document/Information Access Points Notes Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices published in the Federal Register (59 Federal Register 4233) FederalRegister.gov provides coverage from 1994 to present. govinfo.gov provides coverage from 1980 to present. regulations.gov includes public comments in addition to final regulations, notices, and other regulatory documents. Code of Federal Regulations (15 C.F.R. 254) The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) is a regularly updated, unofficial editorial compilation of current CFR material and Federal Register amendments. It does not contain historical CFR material. Executive Orders (E.O. 12893) Presidential Proclamations (Proclamation 9645) Presidential Signing Statements The President's Fiscal Year Budget Proposal Agency Budget Justifications Federal agency websites An agency's budget justification (also referred to as a congressional justification) typically contains a detailed description of each program activity and an explanation of the proposed changes for the next fiscal year. They are usually available on the agency's website, and are also published as part of the appropriations subcommittee hearing. CRS Report R43470, Selected Agency Budget Justifications for FY2018, by Justin Murray provides links to the budget justifications for selected federal agencies. Agency policy guidance, program information, oversight and performance reports, research reports, and statistics Federal agency websites Agencies make a variety of information about their policies and programs available on their websites, including policy manuals, memoranda, notices, program instructions, performance metrics, enrollment/participation numbers, inspector general reports, and research on program planning, implementation, or effectiveness. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Treaties |
|
Treaty documents are available on Congress.gov for all treaties submitted to the Senate since the 94th Congress (1975-1976). Treaties submitted prior to the 94th Congress are included if they were pending in 1975. Law Library of Congress (or call CRS: [phone number scrubbed]) |
|
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
Notes: Plain text indicates the resource listed is freely available; Italics indicate a subscription-based resource available in most House and Senate offices, and also at CRS research centers.
a.
More detailed descriptions and direct links to these resources are available in Table A-1.
b.
For official legal citation style, refer to: The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (https://www.legalbluebook.com). The Government Printing Office Style Manual is another guide for official citation formats and is available online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/pagedetails.action?granuleId=&packageId=GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2008.
c.
Refer to the Congressional Operations section of the CRS website for a list of reports providing analysis, resources, and information on key legislative and administrative processes and procedures of the Congress.
d.
For further information, refer to the Law Library's page on microtext collections at http://www.loc.gov/law/find/microtext.php.
Agency Access Point and Contact Description and Services Congressional Budget Office (CBO) CBO produces independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the congressional budget process, including reports, projections, cost estimates, scorekeeping, sequestration reports, budget options, and others. CBO does not make policy recommendations. Congressional Research Service (CRS) CRS provides comprehensive research and analysis on all legislative and oversight issues of interest to Congress. CRS assists Members and staff with identifying and clarifying policy options; analyzing the implications of proposed policies; and assessing policy, procedural, and oversight options. Acting as a research extension to the staff of each Member and committee, CRS provides consultations, confidential memoranda, reports, briefing documents, videos, advice on process and procedures, expert committee testimony, and seminars. Government Accountability Office (GAO) GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. GAO's work is done at the request of congressional committees or subcommittees or as directed by public laws or committee reports. GAO's products include reports, testimonies, correspondence, and legal decisions and opinions. GAO also produces special publications to assist Congress and executive branch agencies by recommending corrections to problems in government programs and operations, identifying long-term trends, and raising concerns about the nation's fiscal imbalance. Source: Compiled by CRS from agency websites. Notes: Congressional liaison offices in other branches of government, including the judicial branch, executive branch, and independent agencies, boards, and commissions provide information and services to congressional staff. For contact information, see CRS Report 98-446, Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies. Source Access PointTable 2 serves as a finding aid for resources covering current events related to Congress and the legislative process. Resources in this table may contain editorial content and discussion Compiled by CRS.
Legislative Support Agencies
The legislative support agencies are designed to be nonpartisan, objective, and impartial. The agencies each serve the Congress in different ways. Contact information for each agency and a description of each agency and its services is outlined in Table 4, below.
Table 4. Legislative Support Agencies
Cost estimates: Budget Analysis Division, (202)226-2800, [email address scrubbed]
Other inquiries: Associate Director for Legislative Affairs, [phone number scrubbed], congressionalaffairs@cbo.gov
http://www.crs.gova
Place a request:[phone number scrubbed], http://www.crs.gov/PlaceARequest
Congressional relations: [phone number scrubbed], [email address scrubbed]
Watchdog (http://watchdog.gao.gov) is a website specifically for Members and congressional staff.b
. Inclusion of these resources does not imply endorsement of the views held by the publications listed.
Resource |
Access Points |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Congressional News & Analysis | CQ |
/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Hill |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National Journal |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Politico CQ Roll Call |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Roll Call The Hill |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bloomberg Government (BGOV) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bloomberg BNA |
nationaljournal.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Politico http://www.politico.com/ Politico Proa http://www.politico.com/proSource: Compiled by CRS. a. A subscription-based resource available in many House and Senate offices, and also at CRS research centers. Table 6. Policy and Scholarly Research: Multidisciplinary Sources Source (Maintained by)
|
Statistics/Data
Background Information
|
Research Articles/ Reports
|
Digital Commons Network (Academic Consortium)
Access Point(s)
|
+
|
—
|
+
|
Google Scholar(Google)
|
+
|
—
|
+
|
HathiTrust Digital Library(Academic Consortium)
|
+
|
—
|
+
|
JSTORa(Non-profit ITHAKA)
|
+
|
—
|
http://www.jstor.org/
National Academies Press(National Academies)
+
|
+
|
—
|
https://www.nap.edu/
National Technical Reports Library (U.S. Department of Commerce)
+
|
—
|
—
|
https://ntrl.ntis.gov/NTRL/
Oxford Research Encyclopedias (Oxford University Press)
+
|
+
|
—
|
http://oxfordre.com/
Social Science Research Network (Academic Consortium)
—
|
—
|
—
|
https://www.ssrn.com/en/
U.S. Census—Topics, Data, Library, & My Congressional District (U.S. Census Bureau)
+
|
+
|
+
|
https://www.census.gov/topics.html
https://www.census.gov/data.html
https://www.census.gov/library.html
https://www.census.gov/mycd/
+ Source: Compiled by CRS from the Library of Congress catalog. Notes: "+" indicates that this type of information is included in the source; "—" indicates that this type of information is not included in the source. a. A subscription-based resource available in many House and Senate offices, and also at CRS research centers. Table 7. Policy and Scholarly Research: Subject-Specific Sources Source (Maintained by)
|
Subject(s)
|
Statistics/Data
Research Articles/Reports
Background Information
|
Bureau of Economic Analysis (U.S. Department of Commerce)
Access Point(s)
|
Economics, Business, and Trade
|
+
|
+
|
https://www.bea.gov/
EDGAR(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
—
|
Finance
|
—
|
+
|
https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm
FRASER and FRED(Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
—
|
Economics, Finance, and Banking
|
+
|
+
|
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/
NBER Working Papers and Publications(National Bureau of Economic Research)
+
|
Economics
|
—
|
+
|
http://www.nber.org/
OECD Data and Publications(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
+
|
International Affairs, Economics
|
+
|
+
|
http://www.oecd.org/
https://data.oecd.org/
Open Knowledge Repository(World Bank)
+
|
Economic Development, International Affairs
|
+
|
—
|
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/
ERIC and IES(Institute of Education Sciences)
+
|
Education
|
+
|
+
|
https://ies.ed.gov/pubsearch/
https://ies.ed.gov/data.asp
LLSDC's Legislative Source Book(Law Librarians' Society of Washington, DC)
+
|
Law
|
+
|
—
|
http://www.llsdc.org/sourcebook
PubAg and Ag Data Commons(U.S. Department of Agriculture)
—
|
Agricultural Sciences
|
—
|
+
|
https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/
https://data.nal.usda.gov/
PubMed(National Institutes of Health)
+
|
Biomedicine, Health Care
|
+
|
—
|
+
|
Science.gov(Interagency Alliance)
|
Science
|
+
|
—
|
https://www.science.gov/
WorldWideScience(U.S. Department of Energy)
+
|
Science
|
—
|
—
|
https://worldwidescience.org/
Open Source Center(Intelligence Community's National Open Source Enterprise)
+
|
Intelligence
|
+
|
+
|
+
|
Source: Compiled by CRS. Note: "+" indicates that this type of information is included in the source; "—" indicates that this type of information is not included in the source. |
Journal articles & historical news through Library of Congress databases |
|
Legislative Support Agency Analysis & Resources |
Congressional Research Service (CRS) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Government Accountability Office (GAO) |
Source: Compiled by CRS.
Notes: Plain text indicates the resource listed is freely available; Italics indicate a subscription-based resource available in most House and Senate offices, and also at CRS research centers.
Table 3 provides sources and tools to identify experts and contacts outside Congress from the legislative support agencies, executive branch, academia, non-profits, and think tanks. The resources include directories, databases and lists available through House and Senate libraries, CRS reference centers, and online. Contacts from these sources may provide partisan views or analysis. Inclusion of these sources does not imply endorsement of the views held by contacts found using these tools.
Name (Publisher) |
Access |
Notes |
The Leadership Library (Leadership Directories, Inc.) |
Senate Library– online access, also available in all Senate offices. House Library—print version only |
Formerly known as the Yellow Books. Contact information for over 500,000 leaders of 40,000 United States government, business, professional and nonprofit organizations. |
Encyclopedia of Associations (Gale) |
Senate Library—online access |
Detailed information concerning 23,000+ nonprofit American membership organizations of national scope. |
National Directory of Nonprofit Organizations (Gale) |
|
Contact and basic factual information on the largest nonprofit organizations in the United States. |
National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States (Columbia Books) |
House Library—print version |
Lists more than 7,500 trade associations, labor unions, professional societies, and similar national groups. |
Washington Information Directory (CQ) |
House Library—print version Senate Library—print version |
Guide to Washington, DC, area governmental and private organizations is arranged in 20 broad subject areas. Under each area, pertinent federal departments and agencies, and private nonprofit organizations are listed. |
Washington Representatives (Columbia Books) |
House Library—print version Senate Library—print version |
This is a list of 17,000 Washington contacts of U.S. trade associations, professional societies, labor unions, corporations, and various special interest and public interest groups. |
CRS Report 98-446, Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies |
|
This list of about 200 congressional liaison offices is intended to help congressional offices in contacting government agencies. (For congressional use only.) |
Social Sciences Citation Index (Web of Knowledge/Thompson Reuters) |
|
Covers 2,700 of the most important journals in the social sciences and allows users to identify subject area experts. |
Federal Register |
This site is jointly administered by the National Archives and Records Administration and the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) to provide an unofficial, HTML edition of the daily Federal Register to make it easier for citizens and communities to understand the regulatory process and to participate in government decision-making. Notices and proposed rules include contact information for relevant agency experts. |
|
Congressional Research Service |
For confidential, authoritative, and objective research and analysis on issues before Congress. Contact analysts through "Find an Analyst" on CRS.gov, from author contact information reports, or by calling CRS at [phone number scrubbed]. |
Source: Compiled by CRS.
Table 4 contains a list of locations where congressional staff can obtain training and other services on Capitol Hill.
Name |
Location and Contact |
Hours |
Services |
Congressional Research Service (CRS) |
|||
CRS |
|
M-Th 8a-8p |
Research and analysis related to legislative issues. Personalized
For training and program descriptions and current schedules, visit |
CRS Reference Centers |
|||
La Follette Congressional Reading Room (LCRR) |
Library of Congress, Madison Building: LM-202 Phone: [phone number scrubbed] |
M-Th 10a-8p |
Database access; reference and research assistance. |
CRS Senate Center |
Senate, Russell B335 Phone: [phone number scrubbed] |
M-F 10a-4p |
Database access, meeting space for CRS training and private briefings. |
Library of Congress (non-CRS) |
|||
Congressional Relations Office (CRO) |
202-707-6577 |
M-F 8:30a-6p |
Book loans, tours of the Library of Congress, |
Law Library of Congress |
Library of Congress, Madison Building: LM-201 202-707-2700 |
M-F 8:30a-9:30p |
Assists Congress with information and analysis on U.S., foreign, comparative, and international law .Training in the following topics: |
Library of Congress Reading Rooms Library of Congress, Jefferson, Madison, and Adams Buildings |
|||
House Learning Center |
B249B/C Longworth HOB 202-226-3800 [email address scrubbed] https://housenet.house.gov/ |
M-F 8:30a-5:30p |
Legislative training topics include
|
House Library |
202-225-9000 [email address scrubbed]
|
M-F 9a-6p |
|
Senate |
|||
Senate Library |
Russell B15 202-224-7106 [email address scrubbed] e |
M-F 9a-6p (and whenever the Senate is in session) |
Research assistance and training. Training includes
|
Source: Compiled by CRS.
Table A-1. Legislative Research Resources
(provides additional details on information explored in Table 1)
Description |
URL |
|||||||||
Congress.gov |
Source: Compiled by CRS. Description Congress.gov Congress.gov is the official source for federal legislative information. It also provides access to the Congressional Record Daily, committee reports, nominations, treaty documents, and executive communications. Congress.gov provides (1) a single search across all available information and years; (2) permanent URLs; (3) faceted search filters; (4) Member profiles; and (5) bill summaries and lists of actions for legislation. The site gives users with legislative branch devices access to CRS reports and products from bill records, the homepage, and help pages. (Congress.gov will eventually replace LIS.gov, though both sites are currently up to date and in use. The LIS retirement date is targeted for December 2018.) CQ (Congressional Quarterly) | |||||||||
CBO |
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) produces independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the congressional budget process. CBO does not make policy recommendations. |
|||||||||
CQ |
This subscription database provides bill C-SPAN C-SPAN is a private, nonprofit company that provides public access to the political process. Includes a searchable video library of hearings, floor debate, press conferences, speeches, and other types of news programs and events. eCFR (electronic Code of Federal Regulations) The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) is a regularly updated, unofficial editorial compilation of CFR material and Federal Register amendments. Executive Order Disposition Tables, National Archives and Records Administration The text of executive orders appears in the daily Federal Register as each executive order is signed by the President and received by the Office of the Federal Register. Disposition Tables contain information about executive orders beginning with those signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and are arranged according to presidential administration and year of signature. The tables are compiled and maintained by the Office of the Federal Register editors at the National Archives and Records Administration. FederalRegister.gov This site is jointly administered by the National Archives and Records Administration and the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) to provide an unofficial, HTML edition of the daily Federal Register to make it easier for citizens and communities to understand the regulatory process and to participate in government decisionmaking. govinfo.gov Govinfo.gov provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the federal government. ProQuest Congressional | |||||||||
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance |
The CFDA is the primary source of information on federal grants and nonfinancial assistance programs; actual funding depends upon annual budget appropriations. After grantseekers identify federal programs in CFDA and contact state agency representatives, they may register and apply at websites such as Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) or FedConnect (http://www.fedconnect.net). |
|||||||||
Cornell LII |
The Cornell Legal Information Institute provides an unofficial but freely available, searchable and easy to navigate version of the U.S. Code. |
|||||||||
C-SPAN |
C-SPAN is a private, nonprofit company that provides public access to the political process. Includes a searchable video library of hearings, floor debate, press conferences, speeches, and other types of news programs and events. |
|||||||||
Federalregister.gov |
This site is jointly administered by the National Archives and Records Administration and the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) to provide an unofficial, HTML edition of the daily Federal Register to make it easier for citizens and communities to understand the regulatory process and to participate in government decision-making. |
|||||||||
GPO FDsys |
The Government Printing Office Federal Digital System provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the federal government. |
|||||||||
Law Librarians' Society of Washington, DC |
|
| ||||||||
LIS.gov |
The purpose of the Legislative Information System (LIS) is to provide Members of Congress and their staff with access to legislative information that is accurate, timely, and complete. LIS is not available to the public. LIS will be replaced by Congress.gov sometime after the close of 2016. |
|||||||||
National Archives and Records Administration |
Disposition Tables contain information about Executive Orders beginning with those signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and are arranged according to presidential administration and year of signature. The tables are compiled and maintained by the Office of the Federal Register editors. |
| ||||||||
Office of Management and Budget |
|
| ||||||||
ProQuest Congressional |
This subscription database contains detailed abstracts and links to the full text of many congressional and federal documents, such as the Congressional Record, congressional hearing transcripts, committee prints, and legislative histories. Length of coverage varies depending on the category of information, although most categories are covered starting in 1789 or at some point in the 1800s. ProQuest Congressional is available to all House and Senate offices. | |||||||||
Reginfo.gov |
This site provides information about the status of agency documents undergoing Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) review. |
| ||||||||
|
This site provides a government-wide portal for the public to review and comment on published regulatory actions and to view any supporting materials provided by the agency. | |||||||||
Senate Amendment Tracking System |
Senate Amendment Tracking System (ATS) |
Source: Compiled by CRS.
|
Source: Created by CRS. Note: See CRS Report R42843, Introduction to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress, by [author name scrubbed], for more information on legislative process. |
Author Contact Information
Source: Compiled by CRS.
Author Contact Information
Sarah W. Caldwell, Senior Research Librarian ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])